Pinoy music icons on stamps

Great piece of news from head Hotdog Dennis Garcia. PHLPost or the Philippine Postal Corporation will issue stamps with the images of Joey “Pepe” Smith, Rene Garcia and Rico Puno. Set for release on Nov. 15 to celebrate Stamp Collecting Month, the limited edition stamps will kick off PHLPost’s Pinoy Music Icons series. A series! That is nice to know. I guess this means that there will be more stamps of prominent music figures in the future.

I say these singers and composers are truly deserving to be honored this way. They may be entertainers but in a way, they are also heroes for music. Not only that, their images will help make the public aware of stamps again. In fact, having them on stamps might even encourage fans to start writing letters and sending them through the mail again in spite of the availability of digital communication. Why they might even take up stamp collecting or philately if the stamps have pictures of their favorite stars.

Having pop idols on stamps has long been the practice in other countries. I remember being able to buy a First Day Cover of a 29 cent Elvis Presley stamp many years ago. I still have them although I have not been able to check on my collection for quite some time. Several of John Lennon, solo or with the other Beatles, have been issued. I am somewhat surprised that it took PHLPost a long time to warm up to this idea. But I am glad that they finally did.

Looking at Pepe, Rene and Rico together on stamps is like visiting Philippine pop music history. These were the guys who started it all. They were pioneers. Back when local recordings were divided between traditional kundimans and adaptations of foreign hits, these guys came along and simply by being creative and daring and absolutely charismatic, changed the sound of local music forever.

I dread to think of what would have happened if they hadn’t come along. Will we still be embarrassing lazy imitators? But because Pepe, Rene and Rico opened the doors, we got Pinoy Rock and the Manila Sound and a treasure trove of talents and wonderful music in the ensuing years.

Pepe was the drummer of the famed Juan de la Cruz band, which included equally talented rockers Mike Hanopol and Wally Gonzales. One day while smoking outside the stage door while waiting for his next set, Pepe started strumming a guitar and singing “Ang himig natin…”

The song, a wistful call for Pinoys to sing music that is theirs by birth resonated with the sentiments of the young people of the early ‘70s era. Himig Natin and other Juan de la Cruz recordings like Beep Beep and Balong Malalim, plus his genuine love for Pinoy rock made Pepe a legend. He passed away last Jan. 28 at the age of 71.

Rene was the voice, guitarist and the music of Hotdog. He and his older brother Dennis, who plays bass for the band, had the nerve to mix English and Tagalog lyrics with pop melodies. Pers Lab, Hotdog’s first recording effort, resulted in a massive seller. That song marked the birth of Manila Sound, the indefinable music genre where the Pinoy music lover discovered himself.

Along with Pers Lab came the Golden Age of Pilipino music during which rock, folk pop, R&B, etc., etc. all turned Pilipino. Among the song contributions created by Dennis and Rene for the era were Manila, Annie Batungbakal, Bongga Ka Day, Ikaw Ang Miss Universe Ng Buhay Ko and Beh Buti Nga. Rene died of a heart attack last Sept. 2, 2018. He was 65 years old.

Rico had a reputation for cracking off-color jokes during his shows. Oh, but how he could sing. He also had a lot of nerve, first by writing Tagalog lines for foreign hit songs, “Namamasyal pa sa Luneta” for The Way We Were and by jamming with the legendary Temptations in a Makati restaurant. That impromptu performance bagged Rico a record deal with Vicor Music.

It was not long after that that Rico found himself on his way to stardom and success as The Total Entertainer. His hoarse but sparkling tones gave birth to hits like Kapalaran, May Bukas Pa, Macho Gwapito, Ganyan Pala Ang Magmahal, Lupa, Together Forever, Damdamin and others. Rico died of a heart attack last Oct. 30, 2018.

It gives me such a wonderful feeling that Pepe, Rene and Rico are being honored with the PHLPost Pinoy Music Icons Series as heroes. Why they were not only cultural phenomena, they were also great moneymakers. It was their arrival that ushered in a major turn-around for the local music business when for the first-time Pinoy recordings were selling more than the foreign releases.